Good news!

By Cheeno Luang

(Vol. XXVII No. 24, Editorial Cartoon)

Good news!

On a cold morning of February 1, a different euphoria enveloped the whole Main Campus I of Negros Oriental State University (NORSU) after everyone was greeted with the good news written by the university president himself on the bulletin board. It was a news that immediately contained in forwarded chain text messages and social networking shoutouts of most Norsunians. It was a news that instantly became a talk in the university. It was a news that again, made every Norsunian proud of being enrolled in this university of poor but deserving students.

The good news is: NORSU’s BS Nursing (BSN) and BS Pharmacy (BS Pharm) pioneering graduates registered a very impressive performance in the recent Nurse and Pharmacist Licensure Examinations. It is beyond what was expected.

In the November 2009 Nurse Licensure Examination alone, NORSU registered a 100 percent passing rate after all of its 17 pioneering graduates successfully made it. This is too impressive and remarkable considering that the national passing rate of the licensure examination is only 39.73 percent, having only 37, 527 passers out of 94, 462 takers.

Moreover, in the January 2010 Pharmacist Licensure Examination, five out of the eight pioneering BS Pharm graduates of NORSU successfully passed the exam gaining a 63 percent passing rate which is 20 percent higher than the national passing rate. The national passing rate of the said examination was 44 percent with 1, 091 takers and only 481 passers. Adding to the good news, NORSU is now the newest pharmacy school in the Philippines after it ranked eighth nationwide and third in the Visayas among the top performing pharmacy schools based on its overall performance in the licensure examination.

Such achievements, especially from first time takers of both professions, are truly unexpected and remarkable. It is something that deserves a standing ovation paired with continuous applause from every one of us.

But like what is often said, good fruits shall only come from good trees. Therefore it is only proper that our ceaseless congratulations be extended to the entire College of Nursing, Dentistry, Pharmacy, and Allied Health Sciences (CNDPAHS) for such a job well done. Kudos to the dean, assistant dean, faculty and staff, and students of CNDPAHS for bringing such an overwhelming pride to every Norsunian. Our only hope is that you continue to impress us every year.

At any rate, if there is one thing that this good news tells us, aside of course from the goosebumps it brings, it is the very fact that we, the poor but deserving Norsunians, can absolutely do more with less. It is the fact that although our university is still young, its graduates can also do what graduates of long-established universities can. It is the fact that albeit NORSU is a state university, its graduates are not far from the graduates of private universities. And our latest achievements in the Nursing and Pharmacy professions as well as being hailed as the newest pharmacy school in the country are more than enough evidences to prove such claim. As what University President Henry A. Sojor succinctly states: “the poor can rise up through this university.”

Moreover, another lesson learned here is that the less equipment and facilities that this university has, is not a hindrance for anyone to succeed—although it will be of great help if the university can provide more. After all, if we can do well with less, we can, by all means, do better with more.

But otherwise, let us rejoice for this good news. Kudos NORSU!